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International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Vol 1, Issue 5, October 2012
ISSN 2278-7763
Battery Operated Auto-rickshaw and Its Role in Urban Income and Employment Generation
Rana M. S.*1, Hossain F. 2, Roy S. S. 3, Mitra S. K. 4
1, 2, 3 Graduate,
4
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
(BUET).
*Corresponding author (srana.buet@gmail.com)
ABSTRACT
Battery operated auto-rickshaw, since its advent in local towns of Bangladesh has been playing significant role in increasing income and generating
employment opportunities for the poor urban dwellers. Investment on the mode is highly economically beneficial as it involves an income-cost ratio
of 1.85. On average, income of individual operators from their previous occupations was BDT 251.75 per day while driving of the mode has doubled
it now. In addition, around 21% of the operators were unemployed previously who are now offered with employment opportunities by the mode.
Around 38% of total operators were intended to migrate to Dhaka if the mode would have not been introduced in their towns. At all, driving of the
mode having some clear benefits over other occupations available in local towns has become a popular medium of income to poor urban dwellers.
Index Terms— Income-cost ratio; Employment generation; Migration reduction; Depressurization of migration; Occupational benefits.
1.INTRODUCTION
B
ATTERY operated autorickshaw (locally called 'Easy-bike')
is a newly added mode of para-transit in urban transportation
system of Bangladesh. Since the advent, the mode is being
used as a popular transport mode especially to the lower, lowermiddle and even middle income people in urban areas of
Bangladesh as the mode involves lower travel cost as well as
provides much more safety and convenience to the users during
travel than other public transport modes [1].
In addition, the mode brings a considerable change in economic
structure of local urban areas. Operators of the mode generally
come from the poor section of a city as it requires lower initial
investment to own a battery operated auto-rickshaw privately [2].
The initial purchasing cost for the mode ranges from BDT
100000 to BDT 120000 and one may get his money back in only
seven months [1]. Now, the research is made to investigate the
issue more evidently. The research aims at exploring the role of
battery operated auto-rickshaws in generating employment opportunities as well as enhancing income for low income urban
dwellers in Bangladesh.
Table-1: Number of battery operated auto-rickshaws and
physical distances of selected urban areas from Dhaka
Urban
Areas
Number of Battery Operated Autorickshaws Running within the Area*
Comilla
Kushtia
Jessore
Faridpur
Meherpur
8,687
2,521
1,800
1,200
1,250
Distance
from Dhaka
(km)**
97
277
274
145
286
*
Source: Easy-bike Owner’s Association, Kushtia & Faridpur, 2011 [3]; District
Traffic Police, Comilla, 2011 [4] & The Daily Prothom Alo, 2011 [5]
**
Source: Discovery Bangladesh, 2011 [6]
According to the stated criteria and imposing priority on the first
one to ensure data quality, Comilla City Corporation Area and
Kushtia Municipal Town have been selected as study areas.
2.2 Variable Selection and Data Collection
Variables selected to fulfill the objective are presented in Table-2.
Table-2: List of variables
2 METHODOLOGIES
2.1 Study Area Selection
Two study areas are selected on the basis of two major criteria as
followingi.
Number of battery operated auto-rickshaws running
within the city/town.
ii.
Proximity of the city/town to Dhaka.
Initially some urban areas of Bangladesh are considered on the
basis of availability of data regarding the number of battery operated auto-rickshaws. Among them, two have been selected as
study areas based upon the criteria mentioned above. Number of
battery operated auto-rickshaws as well as physical distances
(road/travel distances) of initially selected towns from Dhaka are
presented in Table-1.
Copyright © 2012 SciResPub.
Objective
Exploring the
role of battery-operated
autorickshaws in
urban income
and employment generation
Parameters
Income-cost
ratio
Variables
Investment/
purchasing
cost,
Operating and maintenance cost,
Income earned
Economic
issues
Net Increase in individual operator’s income:
- Previous income
- Current income
Change of occupation:
- Previous occupation
- Current occupation
Employment generation, Migration
reduction, Benefits/costs of the
occupation over others
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International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Vol 1, Issue 5, October 2012
ISSN 2278-7763
Operator opinion survey is conducted extensively to collect data
on selected variables. At 95% confidence level and confidence
interval of 5, sample size for the operator opinion survey is estimated 384 for both study areas. Adopting stratified sampling method, the sample size is divided into 298 for Comilla City Corporation Area and 86 for Kushtia Municipal Area based upon the
percentage share of these two towns in total number of the vehicle. In addition, data regarding the physical and operational
characteristics of battery operated auto-rickshaws are collected
from the interview with owners of several easy-bike recharging
centers located both in Kushtia and Comilla town.
into base year, 2011.
2.3 Literature review
Purchasing Cost
at
the
Base Year
(BDT)
Purchasi
ng
Year
Average
Purchasing
Cost* at the
Year (BDT)
Inflation
Rate**
(%)
2008
96916.70
8.90
2009
100360.00
5.40
2010
104900.00
8.10
104900*(1.08)
113396.90
2011
109793.10
10.6
109793
109793.00
Conversion 1
96916.70*(1.09
x1.05x1.08)
100360*(1.05x
1.08)
Average
Purchasing Cost
at
the
Base
Year
(BDT)
120252.10
114347.60
114447.3
9
*
Chandra (2008) [7] showed the calculation procedure of future
value of a single amount over ‘n’ year period of time when different year involves different interest rates, as following:
Future value of an amount at the end of nth year, Pf= A
*(1+r1)*(1+r2)*(1+r3)*…….. *(1+rn)
Where, A = the amount at a year; r1 = interest rate at 1st year; r2 =
interest rate at 2nd year; r3 = interest rate at 3rd year; rn= interest
rate at nth year.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The contribution made by battery operated auto-rickshaws in
urban income and employment generation as found from the
study are discussed in below.
Source: Operator Opinion Survey, 2011
**
Source: Trading Economics, 2012 [8]
Study shows that average purchasing cost of single vehicle in
base year is BDT 114447.39. In transposition, average monthly
operating cost and income from the mode are respectively BDT
1740.90 and BDT 15969.60 considering 30 working days. Accordingly, annual operating and maintenance costs, and income are
respectively BDT 20890.80, BDT 15139.60 and BDT 191635.20.
Each vehicle has an average life span of 2 years as found from
the interview with several Easy-bike recharging centers located
both in Kushtia and Comilla town. In case of battery operated
auto-rickshaw, average life span of battery indicates the life span
of the vehicle. Considering the life span, annual share of purchasing cost for a single vehicle is determined BDT 67718.30.
Economic profitability of battery operated auto-rickshaw is analyzed in terms of income-cost ratio. Average purchasing costs for
a battery operated auto-rickshaw in corresponding years are
shown in Table-3.
Using these data, income-cost ratio for battery operated autorickshaw is calculated as 1.85, which points to the high economic
feasibility of the occupation. This provides logical reasoning behind the rapid growth of the mode in local cities of Bangladesh.
Table-5 shows the number of battery operated auto-rickshaws in
Kushtia and Comilla towns in different years from 2008.
Table-3: Purchasing year and average purchasing costs for a battery operated auto-rickshaw
Table-5: Number of battery operated auto-rickshaws in study
areas at different years
3.1 Investment-Cost Ratio
Purchasing
Year
Vehicles Surveyed
Number of
Vehicles
Purchased
Percentage
2008
52
13.54
Average of
Purchasing
Costs in Purchasing Year
(BDT)
96916.67
2009
89
23.18
100360.00
2010
137
35.68
104900.00
2011
106
27.60
109793.10
Year
Kushtia
Comilla
Total
2008
730
3,045
3,815
2009
1,150
4,332
5,482
2010
2,068
7,158
9,226
2011
2,521
8,687
11,208
Source: Easy-bike Owner’s Association, Kushtia, 2011 [3]; District Traffic Police,
Comilla, 2011 [4] & The Daily Prothom Alo, 2011 [5]
As calculated from the data, the mode has grown at 43% average
growth rate per annum between 2008 and 2011.
Source: Operator Opinion Survey, 2011
The cost of purchasing the vehicle at different time periods is
converted into the base year (i.e. 2011) considering the time value
of money. The conversion of year-wise purchasing costs is shown
in Table-4.
Table-4: Conversion of year-wise purchasing cost for a vehicle
Copyright © 2012 SciResPub.
3.2 Net Increase in Individual Operator and City’s Income
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Purchasing cost of the vehicle is converted into base year using the
formulae to determine the future value of a single amount over ‘n’ year
period of time, where different year involves different inflation rates.
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International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Vol 1, Issue 5, October 2012
ISSN 2278-7763
Study reveals that maximum of operators had income between
BDT 200 and BDT 300 per day from their previous occupation
pointing to an average previous income of BDT 251.75 per day.
Table-6 shows the ranges of income of individual operators from
their previous occupation as found from the study.
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sented in Figure-1.
Table-6: Ranges of daily income of individual operators from
their previous occupation
Income Range (BDT)
< 200
>= 200 and <=300
> 300 and <=400
> 400
Percentage
25.00
65.10
9.11
0.78
Source: Operator Opinion Survey, 2011
In transposition, battery operated auto-rickshaw driving as an
occupation enables operators to earn an average income of BDT
532.32 per day, which is around 2 times to their previous average.
Table-7 shows the ranges of current income of battery operated
auto-rickshaw operators.
Table-7: Ranges of current daily income of battery operated auto-rickshaw operators
Income Range (BDT)
<500
>=500, <= 600
> 600 and <= 700
> 700 and <= 800
> 800
Percentage
7.29
63.02
19.53
9.38
0.78
Figure-1: Previous occupations of operators
Study shows that around 21.35% of battery operated autorickshaw operators were unemployed before choosing the current
occupation. All of the operators who were unemployed previously are aged between 15 and 29 years. Most of them are students
now who avail this occupation to earn a handsome income besides continuing their study. Figure-2 shows reasons for choosing
battery operated auto-rickshaw as a medium of income by those
who were unemployed previously.
Source: Operator Opinion Survey, 2011
On average, the net increase in an individual operator’s daily
income contributed by the mode is BDT 280.61. Now, a local city
like Kushtia having 2,521 battery operated auto-rickshaws running within the town has an additional income of BDT 707417.81
per day in current year. The amount is incurred solely by the increase in battery operated auto-rickshaw operator’s daily income.
Therefore, net income of Kushtia town increased by the mode in
2011 is BDT 25,46,70,411.60, which is estimated considering
360 working days a year. If battery operated auto-rickshaws
would have not been introduced, the town’s economy might loss
this huge amount of income. Similarly, total 8,687 battery operated auto-rickshaws in Comilla add a total of BDT 87,75,57,265.20
additional income in the town’s economy in 2011. The issue
points to that advent of battery operated auto-rickshaws in local
urban areas of Bangladesh enables an individual operator to earn
a daily income around two times to their previous income and
thus contributes to the city’s economic structure significantly.
Figure-2: Reasons for choosing battery operated auto-rickshaw driving
as occupation
More than 50% of the mode operators who were unemployed
previously choose this occupation inclusively for more earning
opportunities, occupational freedom and lower investment cost
associated with the occupation. In addition, around 32% of operators think that the mode driving is a comfortable occupation to
them.
3.3 Employment Generation
3.4 Migration Reduction and Occupational Benefits over
Others
Previous occupation of operators as found from the study is pre-
Around 38% of battery operated auto-rickshaw operators were
Copyright © 2012 SciResPub.
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International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Vol 1, Issue 5, October 2012
ISSN 2278-7763
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intended to migrate to Dhaka if the mode would have not been
introduced in their towns. Furthermore, around 4% of operators
were involved in garments work mostly in Dhaka, who return
back to their own town and avail battery operated auto-rickshaw
driving as an occupation as this occupation offers some clear
benefits over their previous one. This indicates that the mode
driving as an occupation also has got potentials to reduce and
depressurize migration. In a developing country like Bangladesh,
policy makers search for sustainable means to control the ruralurban migration with a view to reducing stress on urban living
environments. Battery operated auto-rickshaw having potentials
to reduce and depressurize migration would be an effective
means in this regard.
In addition, driving of battery operated auto-rickshaw as an occupation renders some benefits over others available in local towns
of Bangladesh. This issue encourages the mode operators to
switch to the current occupation leaving their previous one. As
presented in Figure-3, major reason for switching occupation into
the mode driving is greater earning opportunities that the mode
involves than all other occupations available within local town
for them. Moreover, the occupation involves greater comfort
which comes out as second major reason to avail it.
Figure-4: Occupation wise factors responsible for changing occupation
More specifically, driving of the mode is better than grocery in
terms of earning opportunities and occupational freedom. It is
beneficial over rickshaw pulling, day labor and others in terms of
earning opportunities, comfort in occupation and social status.
The occupation involves greater earning, comfort and lower investment cost than business. Battery operated auto-rickshaw driving generates greater earning, more comfort and occupational
freedom than private jobs (private service holding), driving/helping of other modes and garments work.
4 CONCLUSION
Driving of battery operated auto-rickshaw as an occupation offers
some considerable benefits over other occupations usually available for low income people in local towns of Bangladesh. These
benefits or factors attract people from varieties of occupations
into the mode driving, which results rapid growth of the mode in
local cities.
Figure-3: Reasons for switching occupation to battery operated autorickshaw driving
In advance, occupation-wise factors that encourage low income
urban dwellers to change occupation from their previous one into
the mode driving are explored in the research too. It reveals that
battery operated auto-rickshaw driving involves greater earning
opportunities and comfort than all other occupations operators
had previously as illustrated in Figure-4.
The mode generates employment opportunities especially for the
poor urban dwellers at great extent. Because of the advent of the
mode, daily average income of a major portion of urban low income community increases substantially than before and so corresponding city’s gross income. The occupation with high profitability can be seen as an important means to improve the economic condition of poor section of city since almost all the operators of the mode come from that part.
Moreover, driving of the mode offers greater earning opportunities and comfort than other occupations available for low income
people in local towns. This aspect associated with battery operated auto-rickshaw indicates that promoting the mode in local
towns of Bangladesh would help in reducing and depressurizing
migration from those towns to Dhaka or other big cities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Copyright © 2012 SciResPub.
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International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Vol 1, Issue 5, October 2012
ISSN 2278-7763
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Authors are highly grateful to Easy-bike Owner’s Association of
Kushtia and Faridpur Town, and District Traffic Police of Comilla
City Corporation Area for their immense co-operation in providing
required data for conducting the research.
REFERENCES
[1] The Daily Star, (2011). Electric Rickshaws Run out of Stream,
Published on May 30.
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Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Kitakyushu
Office, p. 19.
[3] Easy-bike Owners’ Association, (2011). Kushtia and Faridpur,
Unpublished Office Documents Keeping Records of the
Number of Battery Operated Auto-rickshaws in Town.
[4] District Traffic Police, (2011). Traffic and Registration, Comilla
District, An Unpublished Office Document Keeping
Records of the Number of Different Types of Vehicles
Running within the District Area.
[5] The Daily Prothom Alo, (2011). Easy Biker Busy Shohor (in
Bangla), The City Busy with Easy-bike, Published on January 03.
[6] Discovery Bangladesh, (2011). Travel Info: Distance City to City,
Retrieved
from:
http://www.discoverybangladesh.com/travel_info_distance
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[7] Chandra, P. (2008). Projects: Planning, Analysis, Financing,
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[8] Tradng Economics, (2012). Bangladesh Inflation Rate,
Retrieved from:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/bangladesh/inflationcpi, Retrieved on: January 5, 2012
Copyright © 2012 SciResPub.
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